Filed under: Japan , Lexus , Scion , Toyota , Earnings/Financials Toyota earned $9.3 billion in net income in the financial year that ends next month. The number beats earlier forecasts and marks a five-year high for the automaker, with both operating income and revenue up by 9.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Toyota saw quarterly profit enjoy a year-on-year jump of 23.4 percent, with the manufacturer earning more than $1 billion between October and December 2012. The good news comes in spite of the fact that the Japanese automaker actually endured an operating loss in North America, due in part to legal fees. Toyota is set to pay more than $1 billion to owners who claim their vehicles decreased in value as a result of the company’s recent spate of recalls. Even so, all three of the automaker’s brands enjoyed a 13.5 percent sales increase in the US in the last quarter, beating the industry average. Toyota faltered in Europe, however, where it earned $99 million in operating profit last year, compared to $111 million in 2011. You can take a closer look at the company’s full press release below for more information. Continue reading Toyota profits up 23% on high US sales, despite mounting legal costs Toyota profits up 23% on high US sales, despite mounting legal costs originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Toyota A growing number of foreign automakers have been shifting more vehicle production to the US – including recent announcement by Nissan and Honda – but Toyota could be on the verge of taking an unprecedented step by producing all of the cars it sells in the US right here in North America. According to the Detroit Free Press , Bill Fay, VP and GM of Toyota US, hinted at such a possibility, but the wording in the report makes it sound like this is far from a done deal and would not apply to Scion or Lexus models. Currently, the automaker already builds 70 percent of its US-sold cars in North America including some of its more popular models like the Camry , Corolla , Highlander , Tacoma and RAV4 . While most of the Japanese-made Toyotas that are sold in the US are slower-selling models (like Land Cruiser , FJ Cruiser and Yaris ), the Prius lineup is the glaring exception, and last we heard, Toyota still has plans to ship Prius production to the US by 2015 . This is all a part of Toyota’s plan to add 3,500 jobs in North America to go with recent investments totaling $1.6 billion. Toyota exec sees future where all cars sold in US are built here originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Budget , Plants/Manufacturing , Hatchback , Mazda , Toyota , Earnings/Financials After the turmoil of last year, 2013 is getting off to a much better start for Mazda . The company has issued a release indicating that the forthcoming plant in Salamanca, Mexico has had its production capacity raised even though it isn’t scheduled to go online until March 2014 . The original plans called for a 140,000-unit capacity, 90,000 of that allotted for the Mazda2 and Mazda3 , the remaining 50,000 for a small car Mazda would build for Toyota that would be based on the Mazda2. The new plans call for raising that by 90,000 units to a total of 230,000 units within two years, by the end of March 2016, and it looks like it will all go toward Mazda production to satisfy growing demand for Skyactiv vehciles. The Mexican plant’s opening will be the return of Mazda manufacturing to North America, after Mazda6 production was moved back to Japan last year. More good news for the company is that it projects 10 billion yen ($114 million) in net income for the financial year that will end in March. That would be a welcome turnaround from the 100-billion-yen loss in the previous financial year, part of a series of three annual losses in a four-year span. You’ll find the press release with the factory update below . Continue reading Mazda’s new Mexican plant capacity rises to 230,000 Mazda’s new Mexican plant capacity rises to 230,000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

NEW YORK, Dec 26, 2012 –Toyota Motor North America today announced an agreement to resolve economic loss litigation in the U.S. related to previous recalls by committing to actions that deliver value to its customers.

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Honda , Mazda , Nissan , Toyota , Volkswagen Wards Auto has released its North American Light Vehicle Production Forecast for 2014, and the report predicts foreign manufacturers will increase production on the continent some 3.9 percent by 2014. If accurate, that should see 123,000 additional cars, trucks and vans produced in North America, swelling the total number of units produced both by domestic and foreign manufacturers to 16.9 million light vehicles from a projected 15.6 million in 2013. Much of the increase can be attributed to the fact that Toyota intends to produce another car at its Blue Springs, MS plant as well as a new Lexus model at its Georgetown, KY facility in a year’s time. Likewise, Volkswagen intends to move production of a currently imported model to its plant in Puebla, Mexico. Daimler , Honda , Nissan and Mazda also plan to build additional models on North American soil for the first time. Around two-thirds of the new North American manufacturing will take place in Mexico, helping the country soak up a full 20 percent of the content’s automotive production for the first time. You can head over to the Wards Auto site for the full report. North American production of foreign marques to jump in 2014 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink